Ellon couple’s charity boost

An Ellon couple made and sold more than 120 Christmas wreaths late last year to raise £1,424 for Cancer Research UK.

Caroline and John Doherty, who previously held a Scottish country music event in Ellon to raise funds for the charity, sold the wreaths at various locations around Ellon, including the Christmas lights switch-on at the end of November.

The couple were amazed by the demand for their wreaths, which were all made by John by hand.

They have been fundraising for the charity over the last year after they lost Caroline’s son and John’s stepson, Neil Watt, to a rare cancer at 39.

Neil was living in the United States when he was was diagnosed with a carcinoma in the saliva gland.

At that time there had only ever been six cases in the US, and all of them had been identified in men in their 80s.

Caroline said: “I would have given Neil £100 for his birthday and £100 for his Christmas so I decided to spend that money on materials to make the wreaths and turn it into even more money to fund vital research for Cancer Research UK.”

Fiona Harvey, Cancer Research UK’s local fundraising manager for the North-east east of Scotland, said: “We can’t thank Caroline and John enough for making and selling all their wreaths.

“The wreaths themselves were stunning and I know they were in demand even after they’d sold out.”